Hope and Undead Elvis - By Ian Thomas Healy Page 0,64

world is a little beyond my league." Nur slowed the truck as it approached a dirt lane. A forlorn post with a cracked wooden mailbox sat at the corner. The mailbox door hung open like the jawbone of a skull. "So I've done what I can do. Cleared the road, brought the wrecks back to my yard to search and strip."

"Why?"

"Because if I don't do something to stay busy, I'll go crazy." He gestured to the windshield. "Look."

A wooden windmill poked up from the grasses, built beside a ramshackle building that looked like an old barn with a couple of trailers attached to it. Off to one side was a mowed field filled with rows and rows of wrecked vehicles, each laid out on its own little plot like a gravestone. Most of the wrecks were intact, in whatever condition they'd been found. Some had been torn apart as Nur must have begun stripping their usable parts.

Hope looked at row after row of broken headlights and dented grills and shivered; it was like the cars had died screaming.

"Don't be afraid, Hope," said Rae, who had awakened when they turned onto the dirt road. "This is a safe place for now."

"For now," repeated Hope under her breath. She wondered if she would ever feel safe again.

"It's been safe for me ever since whatever-it-was happened," said Nur. "Just lonely. I'm glad to have people to talk to again."

Rae reached over, found Nur's hand, and touched the back of it with gentle fingertips. "Thank you for helping us."

He jumped a little at the contact and Hope realized how much a shock a touch could be after months of isolation. Nur cleared his throat and parked the truck. "Would you like to look for your car first or bathe and dine?"

As much as Hope wanted to find The Way and perhaps a clue to what had happened to Undead Elvis, the idea of a clean body and full belly swayed her. The wreck would wait. "The latter, please."

A brown and white dog with matted fur wandered over to greet them. It wagged its tail as it sniffed at both women. Hope scratched behind its ears and it pressed against her legs and wrinkled its nose in a doggy grin. Rae jumped at the cold wet nose on her hand, but then knelt and threw her arms around the dog.

"He likes you. Both of you," said Nur.

"What's his name?" Hope looked around the yard. A few chickens pecked at seeds, clucking their irritations at each other. A cat perched atop the sagging corner of the roof over a hand-built porch and stared at them. Overhead, the windmill creaked in soothing rhythm.

"Fidel." Nur smiled. "Short for Infidel, because although he is a very good dog, he does not follow the way of Islam."

Hope wasn't sure whether or not to smile back. "Neither do I, Nur. Nor does Rae. She's a nun. Are we going to have a problem?"

Nur shrugged. "I've got no problem with that. Maybe once it would have meant something to me. Now those differences just seem kind of petty."

"It's too bad it took the end of the world for us to see that." Hope patted Fidel's side. He wriggled with ecstasy.

"I've rigged up an outdoor shower around the side over here," said Nur. "The windmill runs the pump that pulls water from the well. Best I can do now that there aren't anymore utility services. But I've got a firebox that will at least give you some warm water."

"It sounds heavenly," said Hope.

Nur gave her and Rae some soap, shampoo, and conditioner, explaining he'd found a lot of beauty supplies in one of the wrecks. He started the firebox for them and showed Hope how to start the gravity-fed shower. He distributed them two large, fluffy hotel-style towels, some women's clothing of varying sizes to choose from, and then made a discreet exit into one of the trailers to cook something.

Hope wouldn't have minded if he'd stuck around, even watched her shower. She'd spent enough time being naked in front of strange men that it didn't bother her anymore. And Nur seemed nice enough, but she respected his privacy as he'd been kind enough to respect hers and Rae's. She huddled under the warm water sprinkle with Rae so they could share it before the water became cold. They washed each other's hair and soaped their backs. Rae had faint scars across her shoulders and back that even her great rose tattoo couldn't